Chapter 113: Indirect Meeting
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Maria Hill drove a police car while dressed in an NYPD uniform, wearing oversized sunglasses as she arrived at the Osborn Group building. After parking, she observed her surroundings before getting out and heading toward the entrance. As soon as she walked in, a security guard stopped her. "Officer, how can I help you?"
"I'm investigating a case and need to speak with Robert McCall. Does he work here?" Maria Hill asked, referring to McCall, who was Jessica's driver, making it unlikely for the Osborn security to cause any issues.
At the same time, the Hydra operatives lurking here wouldn't be overly suspicious either.
"Alright, please wait here. I'll call him," the security guard said, pulling out a radio to make the call.
McCall and Frank both still came to work every day. Both men had lost their wives, and Frank had also lost his children. They were now solitary men.
Link had given them his old apartment to live in, rent-free, and the two got along peacefully.
Despite the current situation, they still reported to the Osborn building daily, remaining on standby as usual. The building had a drivers' lounge specifically for the company's chauffeurs since all of Osborn's executives had their own drivers.
McCall found it strange that the police would be looking for him. Could the CIA have tracked him down?
He came down to the lobby and saw Maria Hill, still wearing her police uniform, but his gut told him she wasn't a real cop.
"Officer?" McCall greeted her, walking up and calling out.
"McCall?" Maria Hill didn't remove her sunglasses, which covered half her face. "I need to ask you a few things. Can we talk somewhere private?"
"Sure!" McCall replied, realizing that since she hadn't asked him to leave the building, there was no reason to refuse.
The two moved to a more secluded area, where Maria Hill finally spoke up. "I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. My name is Maria Hill. I need to speak to Link."
McCall, upon hearing this, finally understood. He was somewhat aware of the situation, as Jessica hadn't hidden anything from him or Frank.
One was her driver, and the other her bodyguard—two people she trusted deeply.
After all, if there was a situation where she needed to go out, they were her protectors.
"How can I trust you?" McCall asked.
"I know who you are, and I know you're cautious. But all you need to do is tell Link, and he'll trust me," Maria Hill said. "I came here under the guise of questioning you to avoid drawing attention. This place is under heavy surveillance."
McCall understood, so he pulled out his phone and called Link. "Mr. Link, there's a Maria Hill here to see you."
"Bring her up," Link replied, unsurprised. Fury wasn't dead after all; if he had died, he wouldn't be back this soon.
McCall hung up and said, "Come with me."
He led Maria Hill to a more discreet elevator, one that wouldn't be watched, and the two entered the private lift.
As they reached the top floor, the doors opened to reveal Link standing right there.
"Come in, McCall. I'll need you in a bit," Link said, then turned to Maria Hill. "So, Fury's not dead after all. Is he up to speed on the situation?"
"The Insight project. Fury had planned to halt it temporarily, but this is..." Maria Hill started to explain.
Link interrupted her, "I know—three heavily armed helicarriers using Dr. Zola's algorithm to identify potential threats to Hydra and eliminate them."
Maria Hill was momentarily stunned. "It seems you know more than we do."
"That USB drive was a trap. The location it led to is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. base that's now abandoned," Link explained. "Dr. Zola converted his consciousness into data and stored it, so in a sense, he's still alive."
"He designed the algorithm, but those helicarriers are just sitting ducks for us Avengers."
"If they dare to launch, we'll shoot them down. But the bigger issue isn't the Insight project; it's S.H.I.E.L.D. itself."
"The lines between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. are too blurred. Do you have any plans?"
Maria Hill replied, "Fury wants to meet with you. Do you have any way for him to get there?"
"Of course!" Link nodded. "But we should bring Fury to the Avengers headquarters. It's safer there."
"Other places aren't secure, and he's badly injured, right?"
"Yes, he's in rough shape. But the roads to Avengers HQ are heavily monitored. There's no way he can make it there," Maria Hill frowned, thinking that Link surely had already considered this.
Link was planning to use the Space Stone. S.H.I.E.L.D. was practically finished, and Captain America wouldn't allow it to continue.
Link had once considered keeping S.H.I.E.L.D. around, but after thinking it over, he decided that it wasn't worth arguing with Captain America over it.
He wasn't here to take the lead, but by now, he had become the de facto leader of the Avengers, partly due to Nick Fury. After all, Fury had brought most of the Avengers together before.
Captain America, Hulk, and Iron Man all owed him favors.
Moreover, his foresight, rational analysis, and psychological expertise had helped him become the leader of the Avengers.
For now, anyway. The Avengers were too loosely organized, and once more people joined, opinions would inevitably diverge. At that point, being a leader would simply mean reasoning with the team and letting the majority decide.
Since S.H.I.E.L.D. was effectively done, the Space Stone could now be revealed. He could even disclose the Power Stone situation.
After all, he had sold the Power Stone!
"I have a way. Just give me the location," Link said.
Maria Hill gave him the coordinates, and Link thought for a moment. He knew the place but had never been there.
It was a massive dam with an old, abandoned anti-aircraft bunker.
Link said, "You and McCall should head down and drive off in the police car. Try not to draw attention."
"I'll pick up Tony and Bruce, take them to Avengers HQ, and then come for Fury and you."
"Alright," Maria Hill agreed, trusting that Link wouldn't act without a plan, even if she wasn't entirely sure what it was.
With that, she and McCall took the elevator back down, and McCall escorted her out of the building.
Maria Hill drove off in the police car, skillfully avoiding any tails that might have followed her.
But even if someone did, it didn't matter—Link would move faster than them anyway.
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